“Is He Jealous?”: Steve Kerr Warned of Alex Rodriguez Treatment as Jayson Tatum’s Team USA ‘Disrespect’ Rattles Boston

With a gold medal win in his debut as the head coach of Team USA at the Olympics, Steve Kerr is returning home a national hero. But he might not get a hero’s welcome like many would expect. At least not in the city of Boston! As passionate as Boston fans are for their home teams, they can be equally hostile toward someone they don’t like. And Kerr has surely rubbed them the wrong way by not giving their beloved superstar Jayson Tatum enough playing time in Paris. Because of that, media veteran Bill Simmons expects the fans in Boston to treat Kerr the same way they did MLB legend Alex Rodriguez for years.

While most superstars on Team USA got their moment to shine at the Olympics, Jayson Tatum faced the ultimate disrespect as he was benched for the entire game, not once but twice. Discussing the same on The Bill Simmons Podcast with former Celtics head coach Doc Rivers, the media vet said, “It’s gonna be tough for Kerr when he comes for the Warriors-Celtics game in Boston. You know it’s gonna happen. He’s gonna get the A-Rod treatment.”

Obviously, he referred to the MLB legend because during his heyday, he became one of the most hated athletes in town after he joined the Yankees instead of the Red Sox. Sure enough, every time he stepped foot inside Fenway Park, fans let him know that he was not welcome in their city. And Kerr could have a similar fate when he arrives in Boston. Agreeing with the notion, Doc Rivers shared a hilarious incident where a fan from Boston asked him while playing golf, “What’s up with Steve Kerr?… What’s up with him? Is he jealous?” referring to Kerr’s decision of benching Tatum multiple times. Although Doc tried to defend the Warriors head coach, it might not be of much help when the season begins.

Bill Simmons defends Steve Kerr’s decision

Although the Celtics fans blame Steve Kerr for Tatum’s disappointing showing in Paris, the Team USA head coach made it clear that the decision was solely based on matchup issues and the stacked roster, “Like I’ve said many times during this tournament and the last six weeks, it’s just hard to play 11 people, even in an NBA game.” Moreover, Bill Simmons pointed out that even when JT was on the court, he was not very productive, “Tatum just wasn’t hitting outside shots.” Even during the final game against France, Kerr gave Tatum a chance to be on the court but he missed two of his three attempts and could only score two points.

But Simmons revealed the most important reason behind Tatum’s reduced minutes, “The bottom line is LeBron and KD are on the team and those guys are gonna play big minutes and that’s it.” As great a player as Tatum is, no coach would have benched LeBron and Durant to give him the starting role over them. Because of their years of international experience and consistent performance in the tournament, it was almost certain that Kerr would not give their backups much playing time in crucial games. But even though that might be the harsh reality behind the Tatum disrespect, the Celtics fans are expected to do everything they can to defend their superstar’s honor even if that means booing Steve Kerr when he arrives at the TD Garden next season.

Before you go, do not forget to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Asia Avinger